Unwanted
by Leather-and-Pearls
Summary: Surrounded by the magic of Neverland, Emma realizes she may have more in common with Peter Pan than she ever thought possible..C'mon guys, we all saw that tension between them. **Emma/Peter Pan** No longer a one shot! (Rated T for sexual tension and mild language)
1. Unwanted

Emma's hands gripped the flask so tightly that her knuckles turned white. The rum warmed her belly and blurred her mind, but did nothing to stop the pounding of her heart.

_Orphan_.

She'd always been an orphan, she saw that now. A dirty child stuck in the system, falling through the cracks as she was tossed from one money-grubbing foster family to the next. Even when she was living with Neal, for such a gloriously short, happy time, she was still an orphan.

And she would be one for her entire life. Charming and Snow were doing all they could, but that gaping hole in her heart would never be filled. Nothing could change the hurt that a child bears when she realizes she's been abandoned.

And then she'd gone and done the _same_ thing to Henry. She'd tossed him aside into the cold hands of the very same system that had wounded her so deeply. The system that gave her innocent child to the darkest form of evil she knew.

A tear slid down her cheek as she sat on the log, her forehead almost touching her knees as she willed her traitorous emotions to stay inside of her. She opened the flask again, taking another swig of the burning liquid. Hook would be angry that she drank his entire supply, but she'd deal with the pirate later.

When she was too drunk to care anymore, preferably.

"Hello Emma."

The words were quiet but they startled Emma as though they'd been fired from a gun. She jumped, leaping to her feet and turning to face the speaker.

"Are those tears?" The teenager asked, leaning against a tree as though he didn't have a care in the world. "They don't suit you."

Emma reached for her sword, but realized with a sinking feeling that it was still back with the rest of the group. Swallowing, she looked around the brush, scanning for signs of movement.

"Oh, I'm alone." Pan said, grinning. "But where are your friends? Do they even know you went for a little moonlight stroll?"

"Of course they do."

"Oh, Emma," Pan sighed, shaking his head. "This is my island. I know your friends are fast asleep, helpless and vulnerable. Don't try and lie to me. It wouldn't be good for dear Henry."

Emma bristled, not liking the edge in Pan's voice. "If you've done anything to my son, so help me God-"

"Calm down, calm down." Pan sneered. "We haven't harmed a hair on that boy's head. Rather, we've shown him just how..._rewarding_...it is to be a Lost Boy."

Emma gritted her teeth. "The map isn't blank anymore."

"Oh, I figured. Otherwise you wouldn't be out here drowning your sorrows, would you? You've discovered who you truly are."

Emma fell silent, her lips pressed in a harsh line. Pan pushed himself away from the tree, stalking towards her. "Aren't you sick of being thrown away? Discarded?"

Emma narrowed her eyes, stepping back to put more distance between them. Her back hit a tree, and a trace of panic licked at her stomach as she realized how trapped she was.

"After all, only unwanted things end up here." Pan said, his voice dangerously soft.

"Watch it, you little punk," Emma snapped, trying to jerk away, but the boy pulled a knife from his waist and pointed it at her face threateningly.

"Have I spoken a lie?"

"My friends -"

"-are only here because you're their savior." Pan finished. "They'd leave you in a second if they could, and you know that I'm right, because each of them already _has_ at some point."

Emma squirmed uncomfortably at the thought. Hook had left her to rot in a cell, Regina would be ecstatic to be finally rid of her, Gold would betray anybody to help himself, and Snow and Charming...well, their betrayal had hurt the worst.

"That's not true." Emma denied.

"There you go, lying to me again. I don't know why you try. I know what you said to get that map to reveal itself, as well as you do." A strange light danced in Pan's eyes as he lifted the cold metal of his knife to Emma's neck. "But let me hear you _say_ it."

Emma flinched at the blade's presence. "_Orphan_." she spat. "I'm an _orphan_."

"There it is!" Pan crowed, smiling widely. "An orphan. Oh, don't give me that look Emma, we're all orphans here. As am I, as are the Lost Boys, as is your Henry..." His gaze bored into hers uncomfortably. "We're the same."

Emma shook her head, aware that the weapon's pressure at her throat had not eased. "We are not the same."

"Neglected, deserted, forsaken...we're damaged goods with no hope for redemption."

"Speak for yourself."

Pan looked as though he was about to fire back a retort, but then a smirk spread across his lips. "You know, you are right about _one_ thing."

"What's that?"

"You aren't unwanted." The unrelenting knife remained at her neck, but with his left hand, Pan stroked the side of her face gently, smoothing an unruly blonde strand back behind her ear. "I want you."

Emma's eyes widened with surprise and she shoved him away instinctively, momentarily winding him as the knife fell to the ground. "There's that fire I love so much." he proclaimed, straightening himself up again.

"What the hell is _wrong_ with you?" Emma swore, maneuvering away from the tree so she couldn't be pinned again. "You, you are a _freaky_ _little boy_ with -"

"A _boy_?" Pan asked sarcastically, spreading his arms dramatically. "I'm _five hundred_ years old."

"But you-"

"Never grow old? Exactly. Do you know how nice it is to stay a teenager forever? To never wrinkle or grow stiff? Emma, I am seventeen and at the peak of my youth. Forever. Of course, when my shadow travels to realms of aging, I grow a little older, but in five hundred years I've gone from fourteen to seventeen. And do you know what I've learned in my five hundred years alive?"

"What?" Emma asked distrustingly.

Pan opened the bottle of fairy dust at his neck and breathed it in deeply, his feet rising off the dirt. "It's a lot easier to be an orphan when you have someone to be alone with."

Before she could answer, noises came from the woods.

"_Emma! Where are you?_" Snow's thin voice called from far away.

"_Where is my damned rum, Swan?_" Hook called, his voice closer than the others. Everyone was awake.

Pan smiled down at her. "Go back with them and follow the map. See where it leads you. Oh, and Emma?"

Emma raised her eyebrows questioningly.

"Play by my rules, or Henry will suffer."

Emma's hands curled into fists at her sides. "I don't know what you want with my son-"

Pan threw his head back and laughed, as Hook crashed through the brush into view.

"I don't want anything with Henry. I have plenty of Lost Boys." His green eyes gazed down at her, ignoring the pirate completely. "What I want is my Lost Girl."

With that, the boy flew away, disappearing quickly into the darkness. Emma exhaled deeply, sinking back to the ground.

"What the bloody hell was all that about?" Hook asked, snatching back his flask.


	2. Don't Eat the Blue Ones

**_Honestly, I thought everyone would hate me for shipping Emma with a kid. But apparently lots of people are as twisted as me, so here you all go :) No longer a one shot!_**

Emma scrunched up her nose as she plucked a fruit from the branches overhead. Heavy, blue, and fuzzy, it reeked of overripe syrup and rot. She pulled a face, inspecting the foreign Neverland fruit with a wary gaze. A hunger pang tore through her stomach, and she considered shoving it down her throat quickly just to get it over with.

"Don't eat the blue ones."

Emma dropped the stinking fruit to the floor, turning slowly. "You know, I'm getting a little sick of you popping up everywhere." she grumbled.

Pan's smirk widened. "Then why do you keep wandering off alone?"

"Not for a midnight tryst with you, that's for damn sure."

Pan laughed and sat down on the forest floor carelessly, bracing his forearms on his knees. "Has anyone ever told you how unlikeable you are?" he asked, leaning back onto a tree trunk lazily. "You're lucky I've taken an interest in you."

Emma frowned. "A little less interest would be a little less creepy."

"Ah, Emma, you've gone and hurt my feelings." Pan said, clutching at his heart dramatically. "Even after I saved your life."

"My life?" Emma asked, raising her eyebrows questioningly.

Pan nodded, spearing the dejected fruit in the dirt with his dagger so that the rancid juice trickled down the hilt and his forearm. "This would have you dead in a few hours. Your _boyfriend_ tricked me into drinking a vial of the juice once, so I can personally vouch for the poison's nastiness." There was a bite in his voice and a faraway look on his face.

"Excuse me, _boyfriend_?"

Pan's eyes flashed as they landed on her. "The _pirate_." he spat, rolling his eyes. "Honestly Emma, I did expect more of you. How disappointing that all it takes to win you over is an unshaven jaw and a crippled hand."

Emma squirmed uncomfortably at the menace in the lanky boy's voice. She felt even more uncomfortable at the feeling in her gut that churned at the thought of Hook being her boyfriend.

"He's not my boyfriend."

Pan rose to his feet nimbly, letting the fruit's carcass drop from his blade. "_Good_." he growled quietly, drawing closer.

Emma swallowed thickly at his change in demeanor and pulled her own sword from its place at her belt, thankful she'd remembered it this time. "Sorry, personal space." she bit out harshly as a questioning look spread across his face at her action.

"Do you think I'm going to hurt you?" Pan asked softly, letting his weapon fall.

Emma glared at his submissive move suspiciously. "I don't know." she answered honestly. "But I'm not going to give you the chance."

There was a silent second, and then a smile flashed across Pan's face again. "Smart girl."

"Now I have a question for you." Emma said firmly, stepping daringly closer, her blade still brandished. "Why does the camp keep moving? What game are you playing at?"

"Cat and mouse," Pan said simply, ignoring the sword pointed at his chest. "I've been frightfully bored here for five hundred years, Emma. Watching you and your friends scurry around is quite entertaining."

"When will it stop being so entertaining?"

"Oh, you're worried there won't be a grand finale, aren't you?" Pan asked condescendingly. "Don't you worry love, there'll be an ending to our little game. I anticipate it being _very_ exciting."

"The part where I kill you?" Emma asked dryly, her lips pressed in a line.

Pan's smile fell. "And here I thought you were growing fond of me."

Emma stared into his dark green eyes that never seemed serious, even when the rest of him was. "Why don't I just kill you now?" she wondered aloud, pressing the blade to his throat, as he'd done to her at their last meeting. "Just put an end to your games and go home with Henry."

Pan's face was one of steely determination as he responded. "Because if I die," he whispered levelly, stepping forward so the steel shallowly pierced his flesh and sent warm tendrils of blood running down his collar, "Neverland, and everyone in it, dies with me."

Emma's mouth opened in surprise as she watched the teenager's unblinking show of dominance. His features didn't twist once in pain, nor did he back away from the weapon. She sighed raggedly, dropping the bloodied sword to the floor as he'd done with his dagger. "_You win_." she muttered.

Pan's victorious smile sparked anger inside of her, but she was helpless in a presence like his.

"You never could stand a chance, Emma." Pan said softly. "I'm too powerful."

As he spoke, he raised his arm and reached towards her with long fingers. Emma backed up instinctively, but realized too late what he was grabbing for.

His hand closed around her shadow, the dark smudge rippling unnaturally around his fingers. She cried out as pain tore through her body, leaning over and gasping for breath. Her eyes squeezed shut, she couldn't see the demon-boy's smirk, but she could ..._feel_ his energetic presence deep within her.

It was similar to the feeling of Regina's icy hand around her heart, but Pan's hold was darker and shook her to her core.

"What are you doing?" she croaked as the pain subsided.

But the boy didn't answer. His eyes were shut as he grasped her shadow, and Emma could feel him going through her thoughts and memories, like a hacker searching for a specific code. She tried to block her mind, to build boundaries around her most precious secrets, but Pan's energy knocked them down easily.

"Oh, Emma," Pan sighed, finally releasing her shadow so that she suddenly felt rather alone inside her own body. "You have so many more secrets and inner demons than I originally thought." His lips curled into a cruel smile. "I'll enjoy encountering every one of them."

Emma folded her arms, shifting so that her shadow was more than a body's length away from Pan's reach. She didn't like him inside her head, didn't like feeling so vulnerable. "You're a freak."

Pan shrugged, wiping away the blood on his neck with the back of his hand. "Perhaps. But you're not too different, based on those memories I just saw."

Emma fell silent, a queasy feeling in her stomach.

"You feel like you need to _escape_, don't you?" Pan asked, stepping dangerously close. Even with the body of a seventeen year old, he was taller than Emma. Emma shrunk backwards, afraid of his next move. Afraid someone would come down the forest path and witness this exchange. Afraid of the way Pan's eyes bored into her hazel ones.

"Neverland's a great place to escape." Pan said quietly, looking like he was fighting not to touch her. "You can stay here for years and years, until you don't even remember the things that used to keep you up at night. The things that used to haunt your nightmares when you finally slept."

Emma felt frozen, and briefly wondered if Pan had some sort of magic that kept her rooted in the same spot.

Yet perhaps she was just spellbound, without an actual spell in sight.

"I can help you escape." Pan murmured, his breath ghosting on her face.

"_Pan_..." she warningly breathed, placing a shaky hand on his chest to push him away.

Pan looked down at her hand on his body and grinned a cocky smile. "I like how my name sounds on your lips."

Emma frowned and went to fire back a retort, but was hushed by Pan's gesture.

"Consider my offer, Emma. I can help you forget all that pain, I can give you your son back, and I can offer you companionship. We can rule Neverland together. It can be _our_ island." He reached around his neck and untied the rawhide string that held a vial of green dust against his chest.

"This is pixie dust." He picked up Emma's hand and wrapped her fingers around the glowing glass bottle. "It's the strongest fairy dust in the world, and if you believe the fairy legends, it will point you to your happy ending." Pan grinned. "It'll bring you to _me_."

And with a saucy wink and the lingering smell of damp earth and evergreen, the boy disappeared into his forest again.

As she stood there with the glass vial clamped between her quivering fingers, Emma wondered again what the hell was happening on this crazy-ass island.

**_Don't forget to leave me a review!_**

**_In case you didn't notice, I'm not following the show's storyline, but I'm trying to incorporate similar elements so it doesn't feel super different. Hope you liked it, you sick bastards ;p_**


	3. Welcome To The Party

**_Here's the next chapter! Pan doesn't appear much in this one, but I think you'll like the small part he has ;p (let's say I took some creative liberties)_**

**_Enjoy!_**

**_(Oh and btw, Robbie Kay, the actor that plays Peter Pan, is 18 years old. So it's not AS weird when you get technical!)_**

**_oh yea, new cover too! :D_**

"I don't understand." Emma bit out through clamped teeth. She pinched the bridge of her nose, willing the frustration boiling inside of her to calm down. "He wouldn't _talk_ to you?"

Tinker Bell looked down at her tiny feet, ashamed. "Wouldn't even spare me a _glance_." she spat.

"You couldn't reason with him?" Regina asked harshly, folding her arms in front of her chest. She frowned at the fairy critically. "Or did you let a _child_ push you around?"

Tinker Belle narrowed her eyes. "It's hard to reason with someone who orders you escorted away with a drawn arrow aimed between your shoulder blades."

"I'll say it again, Regina," Hook declared, absentmindedly poking at their warming fire with a stick. "Pan looks like a child, but he's a bloody demon at heart."

Emma agreed silently, remembering the teenager's cruel smiles and the feeling of his dark presence invading her inner being. Recalling those surreal encounters in the dark woods sent a nervous shiver up her spine.

"You know, I _knew_ he could be awful, but I thought he'd at least hear me out. Especially _me_, of all people!" Tinker Bell huffed in exasperation, throwing herself down on the ground by the fire pit to warm herself from Neverland's chilly evening air. "I mean, I saved his life when _that_ idiot poisoned him." She gestured to Hook sourly. "You'd think that meant _something_."

"We'd be in a much better position now if you'd have let my poison kill the brat." Hook pointed out dryly.

"_Damn it,"_ Emma swore, delivering a echoing punch to the tree beside her, earning an impressed look from Hook as bark fell to the ground. "We've spent days chasing around the camp as it switches locations, and the _one time_ it actually stays put and we can follow the damn map, it's all for nothing." She collapsed her head into her hands in desperation. "What's the point of all this?" she croaked, so quiet that it only reached her own ears.

"Emma, we'll get him back. I promise." Snow said sincerely, lying a cool, steady hand on her daughter's shoulder.

"You don't know that." Emma snapped, her anger blinding her to Snow's hurt expression as she jerked away from her mother's touch. "As we sit here making idiots of ourselves, Henry is trapped inside that camp, where Pan is doing God-knows-what to him."

"Do you think we don't all care about Henry?" Charming asked firmly, his arm comfortingly wrapped around Snow's waist. "We're trying our best, and we won't stop trying."

Emma glared at the sullen faces regarding her uneasily, her fists curled at her sides. They didn't understand. They couldn't understand the torn scraps of her heart without her son. They couldn't understand the nagging guilt in her gut that blamed her for being a terrible Savior, if she couldn't even protect Henry. That little boy was the only thing she had left going for her, and he was the only thing she had left of Neal.

"Pan said he was going to convince Henry to stay here." Emma said after a silent second, a tremor in her voice as she imagined all the horrible ways that could happen. "And I don't know what that means exactly."

"When did you talk to _Pan_?" Hook asked sharply, abandoning his fire poker in the process. A tinge of jealousy rang in his voice.

Emma's breath hitched in her chest, cursing herself for saying that out loud. "Last night," she said flippantly, waving the matter off as no big deal. "He showed up to taunt me. But that's not the point. The point is that he pretty much promised that Henry will never want to leave Neverland. And I don't know about you, but that sounds like magic to me."

Regina snorted imperiously. "Magic? That's child's play," she scoffed. "Surely reversible with _real_ power."

"Don't underestimate him," Tinker Bell warned, rubbing her forearms to warm herself. "He may look like a teenager, but I've never seen stronger magic. Or more ruthlessness." She glanced at Regina. "He can rip away a shadow faster than you can crush a heart."

"This is all a game to him," Snow interrupted, speaking firmly as though she was trying to convince herself as well as everyone else. "That's why we have this scavenger hunt map and why he keeps moving to drive us crazy. If he does something to Henry, then the game is over for him. Why would he want that?"

Emma's heart thudded.

Because he _didn't_ want Henry.

He'd said so himself, but she hadn't really thought about what that meant. But now it was clear to her. She could solve this. She could save them. Nothing had to happen to Henry, no one else had to get hurt.

Not if she played her cards right.

Once darkness fell, and the unnaturally bright stars of Neverland came out to light the forest in pale white, Emma crawled from her sleeping place on the ground. The others lay on the grass around her, soundly sleeping. Regina mumbled Henry's name in her sleep, and Emma felt pity, sadness, and a little bit of jealousy shoot through her heart. Stepping carefully so that her boots wouldn't crunch underfoot twigs or step on the dreaming bodies, she maneuvered around Snow and Charming's snoring forms. Snow's head rested on her husband's chest, their fingers intertwined even in sleep. Likewise, Hook laid with his own great love, yet another bottle of acrid alcohol clutched in his good hand. Tinker Bell was curled in a ball apart from the group, not yet comfortable enough to huddle closer, despite the warmth that company provided.

Emma cast another look back at them. She smiled weakly. They wouldn't have to risk their wellbeing because of her anymore. She'd play Pan's twisted game, get Henry out of his clutches, and then they could all go home and live together as a ragtag little family. With a steady breath, she slipped through the trees, away from their makeshift camp.

Hands shaking, Emma pulled the vial from her pocket, its eerie green glow casting shadows around her. The pixie dust swirled ominously inside of the glass, and she couldn't tell if the sight of it enchanted her or intimidated her. Magic generally made her feel uneasy, but something about this freaked her out more - it was probably the nature of how she'd attained it. Making her mind up quickly, she uncorked the vial, dumping a small bit of the green dust into her palm. It tingled unnaturally for a second, and then absorbed instantly.

Nothing happened. Confused, Emma tapped out more, spreading it over her forearms and face. It shone brightly on her pale skin before disappearing, but again nothing changed, except a prickling feeling tickling at the areas.

"You have to give it a minute." A tinkling voice called from the shadows, and Emma jumped as Tinker Bell slipped into view. "And you have to believe, of course." the fairy added.

Emma frowned. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard you sneak off." Tinker Bell said simply. "I wasn't asleep yet either. I don't trust the Queen enough to let my guard down."

Emma shifted uncomfortably, noticing that her skin had heated up, almost feeling feverish. Briefly she wondered if Pan had somehow poisoned her with tainted pixie dust. "You aren't going to try and stop me from entering enemy territory?" she asked suspiciously, raising her eyebrows.

Tinker Belle shrugged. "With what magic?" she asked ruefully. "Besides, I know what you're doing, and I know you're doing it for the right reasons. Call it fairy intuition, I guess."

"How long does it take?" Emma asked impatiently. "Did I not use enough?"

"Oh no, a little goes a long way." Tinker Bell assured her. "All it takes is faith and trust, and a little bit of pixie dust. Think of something happy, that might speed it up."

"Happy?"

Tinker Bell nodded. "Think of...Christmas!" she suggested. "Think of snow. Think of sleigh bells!"

Emma almost snorted. She had no happy Christmas memories. Instead she conjured a mental picture of her son's face. She thought about his excitement when he talked about Operation COBRA, and the way his eyes lit up when he practiced sword skills with his grandfather or played with Pongo in the town square.

"There you go!" Tinker Bell exclaimed, as she pointed excitedly to Emma's feet. "It's starting!"

Emma looked downward, and gasped as she saw the leafy ground shrinking beneath her feet. A green aura had formed around her body as the heat subsided, pulsing with power.

At first her arms spiraled through the air as she fought for balance, but through Tinker Bell's instruction, she relaxed and found that the pixie dust was more than capable of keeping her steady. "I can fly." she murmured to herself in amazement.

"Emma!" Tinker Belle called, as Emma floated farther upwards to the tops of the trees. "Remember, don't trust him! Don't ever trust him!" Her musical voice faded as Emma rose past the tree canopy, but Emma wanted to tell Tinker Bell that she didn't have to worry - she would never trust Pan.

As the cool air licked at her skin, Emma watched with wide eyes as the green aura spread from her chest, forming a glowing trail that stretched to the far side of the island where Pan's camp was currently located.

_It will lead you to your happy ending._ Pan's voice drifted in her memory, his words taunting. I_t will lead you to _me.

By a magical force not of her own conscience, Emma was pulled to follow the luminescent trail, swooping so quickly that her blonde hair blinded her. Sometimes she could swear that the pixie dust would send her hurtling into tree branches, but each time as she grew close enough to graze the leaves with outstretched hands, she was whisked away sharply to safety.

Finally her journey slowed and her body dipped lower, and Emma's heart pounded with the realization that she was about to crash into Pan's camp. As she drew closer to the shoreline, she could see a campfire glowing brightly and she could hear the rowdy shouts and laughs of boys.

The ground came faster than she expected, and she laid immobile on the dirt for a few seconds as the breath left her body and blinding pain tore through her limbs. Shocked gasps from those in the camp announced her fall, and she gritted her teeth angrily - she'd hoped to have had a more stealthy entrance. Groaning, she staggered to her feet, wiping the filth off her elbows and knees.

The pixie dust had done its job, for the demon boy was the first thing she saw as she raised her eyes, despite the raucous from the Lost Boys by the fire.

Pan was reclined on a partially submerged rock in the nearby lagoon, a smirk on his lips. At his sides were two mermaids, smiling prettily and fawning over him as they stroked his hair and girlishly whispered in his ear. Their glittering tails draped over the rock into the lagoon and their long hair shone in the moonlight. Pan crossed his hands behind his head leisurely, opening his mouth to accept a piece of fruit from the blonde mermaid on his left. He chewed it slowly, and then sat up, grinning as the dark-haired mermaid on his right leaned in closer to wipe some of the fruit's juice from his chin, caressing his face in the process.

Emma rolled her eyes and wrinkled her nose in disgust at the obnoxious adoration scene, folding her arms in front of her chest. She didn't know why, but she suddenly felt very small and insignificant, standing there alone with dirt smeared on her clothing, knotted hair, and her face pink from the cold wind.

Pan laughed at Emma's expression and held up a commanding hand to halt the mermaid's loving actions. The brunette obeyed, but recoiled with a pout.

"Emma," Pan said finally. "Welcome to the party."

**_So I made Pan a playboy with the mermaids. Sue me._**

**_P.S. In case you didn't notice, Tinker Bell's advice to Emma on using pixie dust came almost exactly from the original Disney movie, in the song "You Can Fly". I'll use pieces from Disney's version often because it was my favorite movie as a child, and because OUT doesn't have a lot of material for me to work with yet._**

**_Please _****_Review_****_ and tell me what you think! Have suggestions? List them - I write to make you guys happy!_**


	4. Let Yourself Go

**_You guys are so amazing and I'm so flattered and oh my god I can't even fiction because all your kind reviews have flabbergasted me and ugh._**

**_Enjoy!_**

"You know," Pan grinned, jumping off the rock and landing nimbly on the ground, "I was starting to think you weren't going to show."

"I came for Henry." Emma bit out. "No other reason."

Pan shrugged. "Henry's not here at the moment, so you'll have to make other plans."

"Where is he?"

Pan raised his eyebrows. "Let's just say that...I sent him on an _errand_." The boy's smile curled at the corners as he watched Emma's frustration visibly grow.

"I didn't come all the way here to play more mind games with you." Emma hissed.

"Oh Emma, haven't you heard? Mind games are my favorite."

"I hadn't noticed." Emma said sarcastically. She looked around pointedly at the mermaids lounging on the shoreline watching them with wide eyes, and the curious Lost Boys quietly observing from the shadows. "Do we have to have an audience?"

Pan swept into a mocking bow. "Anything for you, _my lady_." He straightened back up quickly, motioning the onlookers away with a firm hand gesture. "Boys, go back to your fire. Don't let us stop your fun. Girls, go back to your lagoon."

Emma watched with mild fascination as the boy's orders were followed instantly without question. The mermaids, however, cast her icy glares before disappearing into the frothing sea foam. Their jeweled tails slapped the water with the movement, sending a spray of water towards Emma, who ground her teeth and shook the cold water from her arms."Your fan club?" she asked dryly.

Pan laughed. "Of sorts. They're good to keep around - they'll do anything I ask. Not too bad to look at either."

"I see you still have the raging hormones of a teenager."

"I tend to have _quite_ an effect on ladies." Pan said simply, shrugging, not even bothering to show some humility. "But if you think the mermaids are bad, you should have seen Tiger Lily, the Indian princess. And Tink loved me too, long ago, if you can believe it." His voice held almost a nostalgic tone.

Emma groaned. "So I'm speaking to Neverland's most eligible bachelor?" she asked caustically.

Pan smiled charmingly in spite of her biting retort. "Don't be jealous. Fish, fairies, and feather-heads are _nothing_ compared to you, Emma."

Emma rolled her eyes at the boy's words, and he beckoned her to follow him as music picked up around the roaring fire. "Come with me, you don't want to miss the fun."

He turned and walked towards the fire pit. Emma clenched her teeth and stomped after him, her fists balled. "I didn't come here for your _party_." she snapped, grabbing his shoulder and swinging him around to face her again. "I came here to get my son back. And if you won't give him to me, then maybe I should just leave."

Pan's hand went to his shoulder as though he couldn't believe that she'd dared to manhandle him. "I thought I was clear." he said firmly, his dark green eyes staring her down powerfully. "I make the rules here, and you play along."

"I am not a _pawn_."

Pan went silent for a second. "No," he said admittedly. "But your friends and family _are_, so it would be best to keep me happy."

Emma begrudgingly stepped forward, steeling herself not to visibly react when she was lead to an empty seat on a log by Pan's strong arm on the small of her back.

She sat down slowly, relishing in the warmth of the fire. Boys of various ages wearing animal skins and shell necklaces stood around the fire and lounged around the clearing. Some sipped from makeshift coconut cups, some sharpened blades, and two stood by the fire, turning a stick that acted as a spit. The smell of roasting meat made Emma's stomach rumble ferociously, despite the fact that the rotating carcass looked suspiciously like squirrel.

"Felix, give Emma your coat. I don't want her cold." Pan ordered.

"I'm okay -" Emma tried to protest, but Pan cut her off. "Now."

Felix curled his lip and cast Emma a terrible look. However, under his leader's critical stare, Felix slipped an umber fox pelt from his shoulders. "_Here_." he said shortly, tossing it at Emma. She caught it, recoiling at the fox ears and snout that still hung from the skin.

"You'll treat her with more respect next time, or we'll see how you do with a night at Skull Rock." Pan barked at his most loyal Lost Boy. His eyes were harsh as he stared down the taller boy.

Felix rubbed at his broad jaw angrily. "Yes, sir." he said scornfully, clearly embarrassed about being scolded in front of the other boys.

"That was harsh." Emma murmured once Felix had strode away towards a large, dead tree. "What is Skull Rock?"

Pan sat down next to her heavily. "A prison, now." he explained. "It's an island off the coast of Cannibal Cave. Nasty place. Used to be overrun by pirates - including our mutual friend Captain Hook - but we took care of that." He looked over at Emma and a scary smile decorated his face. "They say the moans of the ghosts inside will drive you insane."

"And you'd send your friend there?" Emma asked in disbelief. "For throwing his smelly coat at me?" She touched the fur on her shoulders and wrinkled her nose in disgust, although she had to admit that the thick fur was warm.

Pan was silent. "I don't have _friends_." he said finally. "I have followers. Bootlickers." He shrugged. "I don't _need_ friends."

Emma bit her lip and didn't speak. She was in the same situation, she knew. She didn't have friends either. Anyone she thought had been her friend was dead, related to her, or evil.

"But you and I, we will be great friends. I can feel it." Pan said abruptly, motioning to a nearby boy who brought him half a coconut filled with opaque white liquid. Pan handed it to Emma, who raised a suspicious eyebrow as she took the hairy brown cup in her hands.

"What is it?"

"Coconut milk. It's delicious." Pan said. "Try it."

Emma frowned, but brought the rim to her mouth, taking a swallow of the bitter liquid. Instantly she spat it back out. "How old is it?" she asked incredulously. "It's _fermented_!"

"Well that's the point." Pan said simply. "We all drink it."

Sure enough, a quick gaze around proved that more boys than she originally thought were holding coconut cups, drinking deeply. "Do you get drunk off of it?" she asked reluctantly, sniffing at the creamy milk. It smelled sickeningly sweet, yet something about it drew her in.

Pan's eyes danced. "You could say that." he reasoned. "Why don't you try it out?"

Normally Emma's willpower was stronger than the peer pressure offered by a teenager. But at that moment, there was nothing she wanted more than to get a little drunk and ease the pain in her aching body and heart. Taking a shaky breath, she took another gulp, swallowing it quickly.

A cheer went up among the Lost Boys, making Emma feel as though she was in some cheap college bar. She raised the coconut cup at them playfully, and took another swig. It was bitter, but it slid down her throat like silk and made the skin of her mouth tingle interestingly.

"The boys used to miss their parents, as well the little things like the warm milk their mothers gave them before bed." Peter explained, smiling as Emma went back for another drink. "So I gave them _this_ to feel more at home."

Something inside warned Emma that the drink in her hands was no good, but she pushed the instinct aside and downed the rest of it. Almost instantly, another cup was put in her hands.

"Not too bad, is it?" Pan asked, drinking from his own cup. Emma laughed, surprised at how quickly she'd loosened up. Her ears buzzed and her heart raced in her chest. It must have had the alcohol content of moonshine. Pan grinned and looped his arm around her neck heavily. "Twigs, keep her cup filled." he ordered to a tiny Lost Boy passing out the strange drink. "It's time to play."

The boys whooped happily, and Emma watched, spellbound, as Pan pulled a wind flute from his coat. His fingers and breath ghosted across the pipes, an upbeat melody drifting through the clearing. Pan grinned when he saw her acknowledgement of the haunting notes. As his music spread, most boys dropped their weapons and cups and began to dance feverntly around the smoking fire. With their faces streaked with berry juice and wooden beads and feathers knotted in their overgrown hair, they looked the role of wild savages.

Other boys picked up their own musical instruments - shakers made from seeds in hollow gourds or animal tendons stretched tautly over empty shells. Coupled with Pan's flute, a lively tune thrummed throughout the camp, and, despite her better intentions, Emma suddenly felt like all she wanted to do was join in.

"Do you feel that?" Pan asked, grinning. "That's your wild side coming out, Emma." He smirked at her over the pipes, and a strange fluttering lit up within her stomach.

Emma looked at the boys around the fire, hooting and hollering and banging sticks and rocks to the music's rhythm. She longed to be a part of that, but the sane part of her kept her sitting.

Pan frowned in frustration at her stillness and laid down his pipes, although the frenzy continued around them. He grabbed Emma's hands and pulled her to her feet.

"I don't want -" Emma tried to say, but Pan hushed her, dipping his long fingers into one of the nearby bowls of dark red berry juice.

"I didn't lie to you, Emma," he whispered softy, so that only they could hear. His hand moved to her forehead and his middle three fingertips trailed delicately down her face, over her eyelid, and down to below her cheekbone, drawing three blood-like lines to match the Lost Boys. "Neverland _is_ an escape, but you have to let yourself _go_."

With an amused look on his face, Pan twirled Emma around playfully. As she spun, the orange glow from the fire and stars blurred together in a smear of bright lights and invigorating music. The bubbly feeling in her chest and the fluidity of her movements made it obvious that whatever she'd drunk had fully intoxicated her, but at that moment she didn't care. As a teenager, she'd taken ecstasy once at a club, but whatever was happening to her now was giving her ten times that rush. She felt _alive_.

Throwing her head back in laughter, Emma felt freer than she had in years. She danced with Pan, his smile blinding and his strong, lean arms spinning and dipping her to the frenzied music. Their legs intertwined and they swayed clumsily, but neither cared as their body heat warmed them more than the fire could from Neverland's evening chill. "I like you like this." Pan growled as he pulled her close, and Emma didn't even mind that she was pressed against his chest, her blonde curls tickling his face. Could he feel her heart beat racing?

"I like this too." she admitted, but it was unlikely that Pan was able to hear her muffled confession into his shirt.

And the last thing that Emma remembered, before she slipped away into drunken unconsciousness, was looking up into those glittering emerald eyes and the feeling of Pan's lips pressing a chaste kiss to her forehead.

**_You like? I'm incorporating elements from Disney and JM Barrie's Peter Pan, and I'm making them slightly more "grown up". Such as adding alcoholic milk, when the original Peter Pan play used normal coconut milk as a substitute for the milk their parents gave them. Ok, I know, having way too much fun with this. But I hope you like it :)_**

**_Anyways, as per order and because you all are so fantastically amazing, next chapter is going to be from Pan's POV! It won't be as long because it will pretty much be what he's thinking rather than a storyline, but I'm pretty sure you'll like it anyways._**

**_(All suggestions welcome, and the ones that have already been listed have been put on my idea list - can't wait to put them to work!)_**

**_Drop me a review 3_**


	5. The Wildcard

**_You all are awesome. You know this._**

**_So here's some insight to Pan's twisted mind and a barely-conscious, very drunk Emma._**

**_Enjoy!_**

Pan struggled to pull Emma to her feet. Her eyes - those gorgeous hazel eyes - were open and she was mumbling incoherently, but it was obvious that she didn't know what was going on and wouldn't be awake much longer. Pan had seen many boys pass out the first night they tried the coconut milk from just one cup, and he was surprised and fairly impressed that she'd managed to stay at least halfway conscious. Only Pan knew that the fermented coconut milk was mixed with an extra ingredient - the extract of the Thimble Rose that grew on the Fountain's loamy banks, high up in the craggy mountains where no one would find it. A powerful intoxicant that bordered on hallucinogenic, Pan found great fun in watching visitors try it for the first time.

And Emma had been no exception, as far as entertainment went. With the help of the drink, she'd bloomed in his arms like a flower in spring. She'd tossed the heavy, depressing yoke from her neck and had found her inner wild thing, amidst the music and fragrant campfire smoke.

"Pan..." she groaned quietly as he hoisted her up and braced her against his shoulder, supporting her by her waist. He smiled, proud to know that even oblivious to the world around her, she'd remember him.

"I'm right here, Emma." he whispered. "I got you."

"Good." The word was barely there, but it made him smile anyways.

"Your plaything can't hold her drink well, can she?" Felix called over. He was cleaning up the discarded coconut cups and musical instruments as he spoke, clearing the camp while the younger boys snored.

"Watch it, Felix," Pan said warningly. "I seem to remember you crying in a ditch like a baby, naked, the first time you drank it."

Felix colored and fell silent, resuming his job. He was Pan's oldest Lost Boy, probably older than Pan had been when his body froze in time, and unquestioningly his most loyal. But Pan had noticed a jealous streak in the blond boy and the others, which appeared when Pan entertained visitors to Neverland. Usually, whoever had distracted Pan from his Lost Boys only held his interest for a day or two, and the boys' jealousies would end as he sent the poor soul away.

But Emma was special, and Felix and the others would have to deal with it.

Pan led Emma to the huge dead tree on the far right side of the camp. Easily the tallest on the island, and wide enough to hide an elephant behind its black-barked trunk, Hangman's Tree dwarfed the rest of the clearing. Its dead, spindly branches knotted like bony fingers, and as befit its name, ropes tied into ominous nooses hung down from the lower limbs in a silent threat.

"This is a scary tree." Emma said nervously, her eyes large like a child's as she gazed up into the branches. The unblinking eyes of Neverland birds perched on the above boughs stared back at her, their noisy calls breaking the night's silence.

"Well, I'm a scary boy." Pan purred, smiling into her hair as he pushed her towards the trunk. She stumbled over an upturned root and he caught her before she hit the ground. Her fingers violently clutched at his shirt as she struggled for balance, and he chuckled as he grabbed her wrists gently and removed them from his clothing. "Be careful, Emma." he said lightly. She giggled absurdly once she realized she'd nearly face-planted and clasped her hands over her mouth to stifle her laughter. Pan wished she wouldn't; the music of her laugh was refreshing. Once he was certain that she wouldn't tumble to the dirt again, he laid his palm flat on the rough bark. The trunk was scorched black, the only remaining evidence of the fire set by the Indian tribe long ago in an effort to murder him and his Lost Boys while they slept.

The wood morphed under his hand as the tree recognized the magic of Neverland's master. The door that lead within the tree revealed itself, and Pan swung it open quickly. "C'mon," he said to Emma, looping his elbow with hers and pulling her through the doorway. "Watch your head, there we go."

The inside of Hangman's Tree was warmer and more comfortable than the exterior would lead one to believe. Pan disliked letting anyone, except his most trusted Lost Boys, within the tree, especially after the Wendy incident. However, he was satisfied knowing that Emma would not remember this part of the night when she regained full consciousness.

He took her hand and led her to his own bed, one of four bunks built into the tree's hollow. Only Pan and three of his inner circle was allowed the luxury of a bed within Hangman's Tree. The rest of the boys slept outside in the cold, under makeshift tents and shelters.

Emma climbed into the bed and slid inside easily, burrowing down in the thick blankets. Her appreciative breathy moans and the sight of her in his bed sent a jolt of need shooting through Pan's body, but he shook it off insistently. Now was not the time.

Grabbing a wooden stool, Pan sat next to Emma, his long fingers reaching out and stroking her hair. He loved her wild blonde mane, loved the feel of the silken strands sliding between his fingers. Sometime throughout the night red and yellow feathers had been braided into Emma's hair, and Pan smiled down at her.

She was one of them.

Her face was still streaked with the dried paint, and even as sleep finally overtook her tired body, he saw her inner fire simmering beneath her surface. After all, it wasn't just Emma's beauty that allured him.

It was her spirit.

He heard it when she spoke, her biting tongue a match even for him. He felt it when she danced, twirling like a ribbon as the primitive music overtook her. He saw it in her body language, when she clenched her fists and boldly threatened him.

Pan almost laughed. As though she could hurt him. The notion of it amused him, however, and the naughty part of his mind urged him to see just how far he could push her...to find out just how riled up he could get her.

He remembered her earlier declaration. _I am not a pawn._

He had hesitated then, before answering, but she hadn't known why. As much as he hated to admit it, when it came to Emma, Pan didn't have complete control. She was unpredictable, spontaneous, and a little dangerous. It was true - in this game, she was not the pawn.

She was the _prize_.

And he was the wildcard. He knew that the outcome of their story depended on him. Because as much as he hated it, as much as it scared him - yes, scared the great Peter Pan - Emma was _good_. She was inherently kind at heart, quick to throw herself in harm's way for those she cared about, and willing to give her life for what she thought was right. And he wasn't.

Sure, she had her traces of selfishness. Pan loved seeing the bad parts of her emerge. He liked hearing her curse like a sailor, liked it when she snapped and shoved him against a tree with a blade to his throat, liked the way her eyes narrowed when she was angry and about to fight. And he knew in his gut that he could give her _everything_ she craved and denied herself, if she let him.

A brief knock on the tree's door sounded, and Pan looked up as Billy, a lanky ginger-haired boy, entered the room.

"Well?" Pan asked.

"We just got back." Billy said quietly. "Everything went according to plan."

"Good." Pan murmured, his fingertips tracing the curve of Emma's cheekbone and the length of her neck. He couldn't keep her here - she wouldn't stay after all, once she sobered up and realized Henry wasn't there again. He'd let her go back to her pathetic little group of friends and rejects, as much as it pained him, and then he'd focus on what really mattered.

Getting her to trust him. Getting her to stay.

"Did Henry drink enough?" Pan questioned.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he drained half the Fountain."

A twisted grin spread across Pan's face. "Fantastic."

She'd stay if Henry did.

**_What is Pan doing to poor Henry!?_**

**_I won't use Pan's POV often, since I like him all mysterious._**

**_And how about that CaptainSwan kiss on Sunday? I love PeterSwan but there's a special place in my heart for Emma and Hook. That look that Hook gave Emma right before the kiss just killed me._**

**_Oh, by the way. As I wrote this, "Stacey's Mom" by Fountains of Wayne came on my iPod. Seriously, if you switch "Stacey's mom" to "Henry's mom", things get pretty weird yet sort of awesome. Just saying._**

**_Don't forget to leave me a _****_review_****_, you wonderful people!_**


	6. Gratitude Might Be In Order

**_Sorry for the wait guys, I was up to my eyeballs in term papers. I'm an 11_****_th_****_ grader, but I'm dual enrolled in college too, so my course load gets overbearing sometimes._**

**_Anyway, I should be back to updating fairly regularly._**

**_Enjoy!_**

Emma had woken with the worst hangover of her life. And in her younger days she'd been known to down a bottle of vodka in a night, so that was saying something. The first thing she had noticed was the light. The sun had been far, far too bright for her haggard condition. The second thing she noticed was the fierce pounding in her head, which felt like it might actually split her apart. Whatever Pan had given her was a real bitch the next morning.

Next she realized that was that she was back where she was supposed to be, waking up in the same leafy spot that she'd crept away from hours before. Somehow she'd made it back to their makeshift campsite, and her family had been none the wiser as to what she'd done whilst they slept.

And now she was trekking through the woods again, sweat rolling down between her shoulder blades and insects buzzing noisily around her face. After she'd woken, Snow and Regina had filled her in on the events that she missed in her deep slumber. Tinker Bell had gone back to her tree top home, too nervous to spite Pan again without magic. Hook and Charming, however, were off searching for a magical sextant on a mountaintop that would allow them to read Neal's map and escape from the island.

The thought of leaving sent a fluttering feeling dashing through Emma's stomach. Leaving Neverland? It seemed like a false hope or delusional dream. This island, in all of its chaotic madness, had consumed her so entirely that the thought of finally being able to escape it made her feel nervous.

Emma wiped the sweat off of her forehead with the back of her hand. "God, I need an aspirin." she groaned, as nausea turned her stomach viciously

. "Did you get into more of Hook's whiskey last night? Is that what's wrong?" Snow sighed exasperatedly.

"Hook doesn't have quality stuff like whiskey." Emma said dismissively, pushing more branches aside. "He drinks rum. But no, I didn't drink any of it." She almost laughed. Her mother would be far more disappointed with her if she knew what kind of strange brew she _had_ been drinking last night.

…Or _who_ she'd been drinking with…

…And dancing with…

"Shit." Emma cursed under her breath as the patchy memories of the night before came flooding back to her. Her face colored with embarrassment as she recalled Pan twirling her around playfully by the hand. She remembered being pulled flush against his chest, her hands splayed to feel the quick beating of his heart beneath his shirt. Then there was the cool, lingering feel of his dry kiss on her forehead…

And then nothing.

What had happened last night? Somehow she'd gotten back to her sleeping area, despite having been on the other side of the island at the Lost Boys camp. Besides Tinker Bell, Snow and the others hadn't even noticed her absence in the long night. Had Pan flown her back before the morning came? She brought a shaky hand to her face and noticed that dried paint no longer streaked down her face. He must have cleaned her before he dropped her off again with her family.

Emma didn't know why, but the thought of Pan's ghosting hands gently washing her face while she slept simultaneously angered her and made her body flush with an excited heat. She shook the traitorous feelings away harshly, wincing as more pain speared through her skull with the motion.

That's it, she was going crazy.

She couldn't remember a thing after his kiss by the fire and it infuriated her. Had he taken her back immediately, when she was drunk and falling over herself? Had she waited it out somewhere?

"_I'd _hoped you'd stay asleep," Regina said dryly, interrupting Emma's thoughts. A ball of blue fire magically danced at her fingertips, and she played with it absentmindedly in boredom as she walked. "I tend to prefer your family when they're in a deep sleep."

_ Sleep._

Emma rolled her eyes at the queen's comment, but Regina's words triggered another brief wave of recognition, and her mind conjured up another foggy memory from the night before. She was drifting off to sleep, somewhere warm and dry, surrounded by thick, but somewhat scratchy blankets. Inexperienced but confident fingers stroked her hair lovingly and massaged her scalp, the caresses encouraging her eyes to droop shut with slumber. The pillow beneath her head smelled like sweet, fresh meadow air, tanned leather, and the smoke of burning wood. The scent was beautiful, intoxicating, and achingly…_familiar?_

"Damn it." Emma swore again quietly, crunching the twigs underneath her boots violently to release her pent up emotions without her companions noticing her frustration. _Pan_. She'd been in _his_ bed last night, inhaling his addicting fragrance. His _bed_! Her skin crawled uncomfortably at the thought. It was all too strange and wrong.

A cough sounded from behind them, and the women jumped in surprise, hands darting towards their weapons. The fire in Regina's palm intensified threateningly.

"Stand down, it's just us." Hook said, coming into full view along with Charming. Emma's hand fell from the hilt of her sword, and she breathed a shaky sigh of relief. Thank God it wasn't Pan walking towards them…she didn't think she could take it right now.

"I'll take that sigh to mean you missed me." Hook grinned.

Before Emma could retort, Charming pushed past them and pulled Snow into his arms, kissing her hungrily. Snow squeaked with surprise but returned the gesture eagerly, rising to her tiptoes for easier access.

"Where's the sextant?" Emma asked, her nose wrinkling uncomfortably at her parents' public display of affection. Excitement swelled in her chest as she looked from Hook to her father, scanning their hands for the precious object.

"I'm afraid Pan got to it first." Hook said quietly, rubbing the back of his neck with his good hand. Groans of disappointment met his words, and Emma felt what was left of her hope shrivel up.

Snow and Charming, however, didn't seem overly concerned with the sextant, still kissing uncharacteristically heavily. Snow broke away from her husband breathlessly, smiling as her hands cradled his face. "Not that I'm complaining, but what was that for?" she asked, not waiting for an answer before crashing her lips to his again.

"Well, I'm complaining." Emma groaned, turning away from the loving scene. "Get a room."

"What I wouldn't _give _for another sleeping curse." Regina spat, her lip curling in revulsion.

Charming grinned and pulled away from the kiss again, keeping his arms locked around his wife's waist. "Snow, I almost died today." he said seriously, holding her to him like a lifeline. "Hook saved my life."

Snow's mouth dropped open in shock. "W-What happened?" she stammered, her hands gripping his shoulders as though to reassure herself that he was actually there.

"I tried to do something stupid and heroic and almost got myself killed." Charming looked towards Hook, who cast him a wary glance. "You sure you want to tell them that, mate?" the pirate asked.

"We were ambushed by Lost Boys on the way here," Charming said, nodding towards Hook. "We were outnumbered, and Hook told me to run but I tried to stay and fight them off. Hook risked his life to stop me from being hit by a poisoned arrow. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be alive right now." He released Snow and walked towards the pirate, holding out his palm. "Your flask please, I think you deserve a little credit. To Hook!"

"Thank you." Hook said honestly, looking down almost bashfully as each person took a sip. Emma joined in on the toast in Hook's name, swigging down a mouthful of the rum. The rest of the group dispersed, leaving Emma alone with the pirate.

"Thank you for saving him," Emma said after an awkward second. She held out the flask for him to retrieve.

Hook stepped in closer to her, slipping the rum back into his pocket. "I think some gratitude might be in order." he said flirtatiously, smiling wickedly.

Emma pursed her lips. "That's what the thank you was for," she whispered. "Don't get greedy."

"A _thank you_?" Hook asked dramatically. "Is that all that your father's life is worth to you?"

Emma tried not to laugh at the puppy-dog eyes he flashed her, knowing that he was doing his best to look as adorable as possible. However, a knot in her stomach formed when she realized that her pulse hadn't quickened at his closeness. Nor, regrettably, had heat flooded her body or had nervous butterflies fluttered within her gut.

It deeply troubled Emma that the last time she'd felt that way, she'd been in the arms of a five-hundred year old teenager.

"Are you afraid you can't handle it?" Hook smirked, his hook suddenly snagged in the belt loop of her jeans, tugging her closer.

Emma couldn't believe that the pirate's flirtations were not getting a rise out of her. Here was a _perfectly_ handsome man – _a man_, not a _boy, _mind you – that was entirely willing to make the first move…yet she felt nothing. No passion, no connection, no…nothing.

"Hook…" she said warningly, about to push him away.

"What is it, Swan?" Hook purred, his breath fanning down the length of her neck. "Wait, let me guess. There's someone else, isn't there?" The look in his eyes and the lilt in his voice made it obvious that he was joking around with her, but nonetheless, a cold dread settled in her limbs.

Pan _was not _someone else. Emma refused to even consider that. No matter what this damn island and that perverted little freak had done to her head, there was no way that she'd let it control her. Pan was _nothing _to her.

Nothing, nothing, nothing.

Maybe if she said it enough times, she'd believe it.

With a determined burst of energy, Emma grabbed the collar of Hook's leather coat and yanked his lips to hers. She felt his unshaven face smile victoriously against her soft skin as his lips slanted across hers with eager rhythm.

Emma felt his fingers tangle in her hair and pull her flush against his body insistently. She could _feel_ his skill and confidence in the act, but realized with a sinking feeling that there was no electric feeling jolting within her. It was like kissing a stranger, but without the thrill. It was just…boring.

Emma broke the kiss off prematurely, her hands still clutching at his leather collar as she fought to regain her breath. She felt his own chest heaving for oxygen and felt his chuckle rumble through his body. "What _was_ that?" he asked raggedly.

Emma went to answer, but when she raised her head to look at the pirate, her eyes saw brief movement in the trees behind him. She breathed in sharply, eyes widening.

Pan leaned against a tree, his arms folded in front of his chest. He didn't say a word, but his jaw clenched and unclenched visibly, and Emma saw him shake his head slightly and frown his emerald eyes before ducking away into the depths of the forest. For some reason, pain clenched in her stomach and her legs felt like jelly.

"Emma? Did you hear me?" Hook smirked, twirling a strand of her golden hair around his finger. A quizzical look fell upon his handsome face as he discovered one of the red feathers braided into her hair.

Emma remembered the feel of Pan's hands working the feathers into her hair the night before, while she giggled and swayed to the enchanting music. Again she felt guilty, and sort of dirty, for being caught red-handed in Hook's embrace.

"Uh, yeah. _This_." Emma stammered awkwardly, trying not to make it obvious that she'd been looking behind him. She stumbled away from him, not trusting herself to meet his eyes. "_This_ is a one-time thing."

**_Trust me, I ship Captain Swan, and I felt a little bad about describing that beautiful, wonderful kiss as 'boring' in Emma's view. BUT I wanted to make it clear that for THIS story's sake, Emma kissed Hook to prove to herself that Pan doesn't have any sort of hold over her._**

**_Which he obviously does._**

**_Don't forget to _****_review!_**


	7. Your Bones Will Never Ache

**_So I'm officially not on track with the show anymore. If I can incorporate parts I may, but I think that it's going in a completely different direction now compared to this fanfic. (Did you see them introduce Skull Rock last episode? They totally stole my idea haha) Plus, I think I'm going to do a different Wendy scenario, but I'm not sure yet. You'll have to keep reading to find out!_**

**_Enjoy!_**

Emma sighed, dipping her bare feet into the stream that bubbled peacefully below. In the distance, she could hear the faraway sound of a waterfall crashing and the gentle sound of water trickling down rocks towards the stream below. Night had fallen again, and she watched the moonlight dance across the water's surface as insects hummed noisily in the background.

Her heart thudded strangely quickly under her tank top. Emma wasn't stupid - she was alone and it was dark outside...he would show up, she knew it. She couldn't tell if the shaking of her hands was from thrill or fear...but neither of those feelings even made sense; she had no reason for Pan's presence to terrify or excite her.

She didn't have to turn around to see him appear from the foliage - she could feel his intense gaze boring through her skin the moment he melted through the trees.

"It's always dark when we meet." she mused quietly, pointedly avoiding the obvious subject lingering in front of them. "Have you noticed that?"

"Darkness hides our secrets." Pan said harshly, walking towards her. She couldn't gather the courage to meet his eyes, and instead lifted her feet back on to the boulder she sat upon, wrapping her arms around her knees.

"In fact," Pan continued, his presence looming over her ominously, "The one time we met in daylight was the one time I got a glimpse of who you _truly_ are."

Emma's stomach clenched nervously at his mention of her kiss with Hook. "I'd hardly call that a _meeting_ between us," she grumbled. "You were spying on me from the woods. Like a weird little stalker."

"I always watch you. You should be used to it by now." There was an edge to his voice, but he spoke with his mysterious lilt that made it difficult for Emma to decode his mood.

"I had my share of jealous teenage boys in high school. It's annoying." Emma spat, staring down at the black water below. "Are you looking for some sort of apology? Because you won't get one."

"I'm not looking for an apology, Emma." Pan assured her, crouching down beside her. Again she refused to look at him, shifting slightly farther to the right to avoid brushing up against him. "But I'm disappointed in you. I thought you were smarter than to fall for the charms of a lowlife like Hook."

"He's not a lowlife - "

"Of _course_ he is." Pan interrupted firmly. "He's just a mutilated common thief who'll say anything for a quick romp and roll on the floor with a pretty girl. I'm sorry that I assumed you'd be better at resisting his lackluster charms than _pudgy tavern maids_ and _street wenches."_

Emma's fingers gripped the stone beneath her body tightly, her knuckles whitening. "There wasn't going to be any rolling on the ground."

"Things certainly looked like they were progressing quickly." Pan shot back, his voice dangerously soft. "Tell me, Emma, if you hadn't seen me standing in the trees today, how far would you have let him go?"

_Not far at all,_ a piece of her reasoned. It had been boring, dry, tasteless...

"How far," Pan hissed, leaning in close so that his breath tickled her ear, "until you realized that he wasn't what you _wanted_?"

Emma jumped, startled to hear what she'd just been thinking come from Pan. She turned to look at him for the first time, knowing that she shouldn't, knowing he'd be able to read her like a book.

"What is _wrong_ with me?" she murmured angrily, swearing under breath.

Pan smiled triumphantly. "What do you mean?"

Emma looked down at her hands in frustration, picking at the cuticles rather than meeting his emerald gaze. "Why do I feel so goddamn _guilty_?"

She knew she should shut up, but the landslide was already in motion. "I feel like I did something _wrong_ when I kissed Hook." she explained, rubbing at her temples anxiously. "Every time I think about it, I feel nauseous and ashamed. And I can't even look you in the eye without..."

"Without what?" Pan asked softly as she trailed off, rising to his full height again.

Emma chewed the inside of her cheek. "Without feeling like I've betrayed you!" she blurted out, her eyes wide and frantic. "Which is entirely _ridiculous_, because I don't owe you _anything_, and you don't _own_ me." She turned her head to the side, hoping that her flaming cheeks weren't visible.

"Emma-" Pan began, but she cut him off coldly.

"What did you put in that drink?"

"Excuse me?"

Emma ground her teeth. "None of this happened until I drank that coconut milk. I didn't feel this way, didn't think this way...did you spike it with some kind of Neverland voodoo love doctor potion?"

A smile tilted up the corners of Pan's lips as he watched her. "There was no Neverland voodoo love doctor potion in that drink. I promise." he said sincerely. "It might make you a little tipsy and a tad bit delusional, but its effects on you have long since worn off by now."

"A spell then?"

"I'm flattered you feel a magical bond, but no, no spell." The look of victory on the teenager's face was almost too much for Emma to bear.

"It's this island. It magnifies everything, makes the shadows darker and the good things brighter." Pan exclaimed, picking up a smooth stone from the rocks at his feet. "But it can't make you feel things that aren't really there."

Emma fell silent, not knowing how to respond. She watched Pan's wrist snap forward and send the small stone skipping across the water's surface, leaving a trail of forlorn ripples behind from its movement.

"You shouldn't sit so close to the water." Pan added when the silence became unbearable. "Mermaids, after all. They swim in the streams too."

Emma let out an unstable, thin laugh. "I'm not afraid of your fish girlfriends." she said.

"Then you've obviously never seen them drag someone beneath the waves to drown."

Emma didn't answer, letting her fingers dip in the water absentmindedly, dragging her fingertips lazily across the surface. _Magnifying things that were already there_? If that little twerp was insinuating that she had any natural feelings for him, then he was insane.

"Emma?"

"What?" she asked tersely.

"Come with me."

The words were soft, and Emma looked up sharply. For the first time, Pan looked vulnerable as he spoke. The tips of his sandy hair curled above large, liquid gemstone eyes. He chewed at the corner of his mouth anxiously as he scanned her facial expression, his leather-cuffed arms fidgeting at his sides.

"You're crazy." Emma breathed, slowly shaking her head. She'd meant the words to come out cold and dismissively, but instead they slipped from her lips in awe.

"Come to my camp with me." Pan continued hurriedly, grabbing her hand and pulling her to her feet as well. "Stay there with me and the Lost Boys; leave behind this pathetic little group of idiots."

Emma jerked her hand away, folding her arms in front of her chest. "This pathetic little group is my _family_." she hissed.

Pan raised an eyebrow. "And Henry is your son. If you come with me, you'll be able to talk to him every day." he urged, gesturing with his hands as he talked like a talented salesman. "I know you won't believe it, but Henry is happy here. He's the best new recruit I've ever had - he's almost one of us."

"Henry will _never_ be like you."

Pan laughed. "Neverland is a funny place, Emma. It changes you. Believe me, Henry is having the time of his life. If you come with me, you'll see. If you come with me, Henry will be able to be with his mother while he lives the adventures of a Lost Boy. If you don't come with me, then sweet Henry will forget you in a few decades." A warning strained Pan's voice as he spoke.

"He would never." Emma insisted, curling her fists.

"That's what everyone thinks. Do you have any idea how many Lost Boys have come here and cried endlessly to go home? But they all forget eventually. They love the freedom and the adventure that Neverland offers - _Henry_ loves it."

Emma felt a pit in her stomach. That _did_ sound like something Henry would like.

"You'll never want to leave this island if you give it a chance." Pan promised. "You'll never grow old. Your hair will never go gray and your bones will never ache. You'll live forever."

"But my family-"

"Oh yes, the prince and princess." Pan said, bored. "Well, you'll be happy to know that they aren't going anywhere either."

"What the hell does that mean?" Emma asked distrustingly.

"Your father drank from the Fountain." he said simply. "Didn't you know? He was dying from a poisoned wound and accepted the Fountain's gift. He can never leave Neverland, or the magic is severed and he'll die." Pan grinned at her shocked expression. "That's why Neverland is called Neverland. And I assume, because of the romantic sop that she is, that your mother will stay with her dear husband."

Emma's mouth dropped open in disbelief at what she was hearing. "H-he was never poisoned. Hook _saved him f_rom that arrow."

"Your pirate is lying to you." Pan sneered.

"He's not _my_ pirate." Emma snapped automatically.

"Good." Pan smirked, picking up her hand again and folding his strong hand around her shaking fingers. "Then _forget_ him and that damned evil queen. Stay here with me...stay here with your family."

Emma's mind raced chaotically. She didn't believe the devil boy, she didn't trust a word he said. And yet, she knew she _had_ to see Henry. She had to make sure he was okay.

She'd do anything. Even if that meant lying to Pan until she could figure out a way for her family to return to Storybrook.

A strange heat tingled in her body as warmth spread from Pan's touch, and it caught her off-guard.

"Okay." she agreed.

-  
**_Surprised? I thought it's time that Emma got to spend some...quality time...with Pan. Plus, imagine all the trouble she could get into in the Lost Boy camp!_**

**_Don't forget to _****_review_****_!_**


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